Friday, December 16, 2011

Sunbutter Chicken Fingers

I have some more Christmas recipes coming, and soon. But, in the mean time, here is a delicious dinner recipe. My sister came up with this idea, so I give her full credit.

My diet is completely lacking in convenience food. This recipe, of course, is much healthier....but who am I kidding? I want "fast food" sometimes too! I don't crave it anymore, having been off of it for a few years now, but it's the novelty that I miss. I often wish that I could just eat something out of a can, or the freezer, and not have to cook something from scratch! I'm sure that you, or you kids, with allergies feel the same way sometimes. I'm reminded of a blog I read a while ago. It was written by the mom of a child (I think a son) with allergies. He wanted to be able to take a lunchable-type lunch to school, like all of his friends. For those of you not familiar with this product, it's a pre-packaged lunch that includes crackers, and small pieces of cheese and meat to go on top. Not the most exciting of foods, but it's the novelty that counts! This wonderful mom made her son a home-made version and he was thrilled! I'm usually good at remembering where I read something, but this time
the name of the blog slips my mind and I haven't been able to figure it
out. If you happen to know the blog that I'm talking about, please let
me know so that I can mention her in this post.

These chicken fingers are healthy, delicious, and they give you the novelty of eating convenience food. They have a rich, nuttiness from the sunbutter. I served them with sweet potato fries but I think they would also go really well with my Sweet Potato Fritters. These chicken fingers can even be made in advance and frozen - either before or after cooking. This way you can eat something straight from the freezer :) I hope you enjoy!

Sunbutter Chicken Fingers

Sunbutter Chicken Fingers

- Three boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- About 1/2 cup of sunflower seed butter
- About 1/2 cup rice milk
- About four cups of crisp rice cereal
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Spices for seasoning (optional) I used a few pinches of garlic powder and dried basil

Preheat oven to 400˚F/204˚C. Slice your chicken breasts into fingers (or nuggets, if you prefer) trying to make them all a comparable size. Place your sunbutter in a wide bowl and microwave to warm slightly - I did mine for about 30-40 seconds at 10 second intervals. You just want the sunbutter to become a little more pliable, not hot. Slowly mix rice milk into sunbutter until you have reached a similar consistency to an egg. In a blender or food processor combine rice cereal, salt, pepper, and spices, if using. Blend until mixture resembles bread crumbs. Taste coating and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Place crumbs into another wide bowl. Dip chicken pieces into sunbutter/rice milk mixture, and toss in rice cereal crumbs. Place on parchment-covered baking sheet, and bake for 20 minutes, flipping half-way through. The suggested temperature for chicken breasts is 170° F/77°C. Dip in your choice of sauce, or serve plain. Serves four.

Alterations:

-If you are allergic to sunflower seeds, then use whatever seed or nut butter you can tolerate. You could also use an egg, if you prefer, but you will lose the nuttiness that the sunbutter gives.

- If you are allergic to rice, use whatever cereal/bread/crackers that you prefer and blend into crumbs. You can also replace the rice milk with any milk of your choice.

- If you do not have rice cereal on hand, you may be able to find rice bread crumbs. Make sure you read the ingredients, some contain potato starch and other surprise ingredients!

- Feel free to experiment with other spice combinations, or omit if you prefer.

- If you are making nuggets instead of strips they should take less time to cook so adjust the cooking time accordingly.

Notes:

- These can be frozen either raw, or cooked. Place chicken fingers in a single layer on a cookie sheet or plate and freeze. Once frozen, keep them in a bag, or wrap in parchment or tin-foil. If you freeze them raw, you will have to cook them for a bit longer than 20 minutes - make sure they reach the proper internal temperature. If you freeze them pre-cooked, simply re-heat in the oven or microwave.

- Compared to other home-made chicken finger recipes this recipe is egg-free, wheat-free, and dairy-free.

- Compared to store-bought chicken fingers these are
also preservative free.

- Compared to other gluten-free chicken fingers I have seen in stores, these are corn-free, potato-free, soy-free, and nut-free.

- Make sure to not over-crowd your cookie sheet. This will help your chicken fingers crisp-up.

*Please Note* These recipes are part of my personal allergy diet. Please
remember that everyone's allergies are different. If you are unsure
about any ingredients listed in these recipes please check with your
doctor before introducing.